Research Funding
The Department of Anthropology is deeply invested in student research from the undergraduate through the postdoctoral level. We offer a variety of grants and awards to support students in the research projects and travel, as well as guidance on additional sources of funding.
Jane B. Hart Endowment
The Jane B. Hart Endowment supports a distinguished speakership and two annual awards to undergraduate students: the Hart Award for Outstanding Academic Achievement and the Hart Award for Outstanding Undergraduate Thesis.
Lewis N. Cotlow Research Fund
The Lewis N. Cotlow Field Research Fund supports student research from the undergraduate through the doctoral level, in any area of anthropology. Since 1991, it has supported more than 200 research projects by GW anthropology students in 55 countries.
Currently enrolled GW students are eligible to apply. Funds may be used for travel, living expenses, research assistance and other expenses related to field research; they cannot be used for tuition, equipment, or fees.
Most awards are between $400 and $1,800. Grant recipients are required to present highlights of their findings at a departmental student conference or at another venue approved by their mentor.
To prepare a strong proposal, it is important to work with a faculty mentor or advisor in the Anthropology Department. This is particularly true for undergraduates, since their faculty advisor has to endorse their proposal for consideration. All our core faculty members are available for consultation about the process.
Although some people have received two Cotlow awards, preference is given to applicants who have not already received funding. Among doctoral student applicants, preference is also given to those who have not yet advanced to candidacy with the intent that Cotlow awards may assist in completing pilot fieldwork or data collection. Awards are not given to undergraduate seniors unless they are continuing enrollment in one of our Masters programs for the next year.
Proposals are due the first Friday in March. Fill out and submit the application form (PDF) and email it to [email protected]. If you have received a previous Cotlow award, please include a statement in your current application reporting the results of previous Cotlow support. Awardees are announced in April.
The fund was created by a $150,000 bequest from the estate of Lewis Cotlow (1898-1987), an explorer, author and filmmaker who attended GW.
Among the many studies the Cotlow Fund has supported are an examination of fair trade activists in San Francisco; Mesoamerican ceramics; midwifery in Washington, D.C.; rumors of organ trafficking in Cambodia; the behavior of orphaned and non-orphaned baboons; and Hopi attempts to preserve intangible aspects of their heritage.
William Warren Endowment
The William Warren Endowment Fund for Fellowships provides funding for undergraduate or graduate students to do work in archaeology, paleontology and the classics. The money can be used to cover airfare, room and board and tuition expenses while doing fieldwork.
For information on applying, please contact the Department for more information.
The endowment was created by a generous gift from William Warren, a retired Foreign Service Officer, who received a BA in 1967 from what is now the Elliott School of International Affairs. He was American Consul in Adana, Turkey, served as Charge d'Affaires of the American Embassy in the Solomon Islands and in Samoa, and held other overseas posts. Warren established two awards, the Thomas and Ola Herbert Reidling Undergraduate Award for BA or BS candidates and the Zelma Reidling Warren Bannister and William Warren Graduate Fellowship Award for M.A. and PhD candidates.
In 2008, the fund's first year, five undergraduates received awards to aid their work at Megiddo, a Bronze and Iron Age site in Israel. Since then, the Megiddo excavation continued to benefit from Warren awardees, but undergraduate and graduate students have also worked elsewhere in Asia, East Africa and North America.
Lawrence Fatica PhD Human Paleobiology |
Rwanda Director: Shannon McFarlin |
Courtney Jirsa BA Archaeology |
Kenya (Koobi Fora) Director: David Braun |
Amber Nubgaard MA Anthropology |
USA (Ferry Farm, Virginia) Director: Jeffrey Blomster |
Diogo Oliveira BA Archaeology |
Mexico (Oaxaca) Director: Jeffrey Blomster |
Kelly Ostrofsky PhD Human Paleobiology |
Rwanda Director: Shannon McFarlin |
Jonathan Reeves PhD Human Paleobiology |
Kenya (Koobi Fora) Director: David Braun |
Tristan Scholl BA International Affairs & Archaeology |
Ireland Director: Susan Johnston |
Meagan Vakiener PhD Human Paleobiology |
Rwanda Director: Shannon McFarlin |
Eve Boyle PhD Human Paleobiology |
Kenya (Koobi Fora) Director: David Braun |
Alexis Clark BA Archaeology |
Mexico (Etlatongo, Oaxaca Director: Jeffrey Blomster |
Timothy Enright MA Anthropology |
Israel (Tel Kabri) Director: Eric Cline |
Tyler Johnston BA International Affairs Anthropology |
Kenya (Koobi Fora) Director: David Braun |
Sean Lee PhD Human Paleobiology |
D.R. Congo (LuiKotale Bonobo Project site) Director: Carson Murray |
Enquye Negash PhD Human Paleobiology |
Kenya (Koobi Fora) Director: David Braun |
Meagan Vakiener PhD Human Paleobiology |
Rwanda Director: Shannon McFarlin |
Amelia Villaseñor PhD Human Paleobiology |
Kenya (Nairobi) Director: René Bobe |
Jack Bonatakis BA Archaeology/Classics |
Israel (Megiddo) Director: Eric Cline |
Laurence Dumouchel PhD Hominid Paleobiology |
Kenya (Koobi Fora) Director: David Braun |
Andrew Moore and Joseph Stiegler PhD Biology |
China Director: James Clark |
Jacqueline Olson BS Biology/Biological Anthropology |
Kenya (Koobi Fora) Director: David Braun |
Kelly Ostrofsky PhD Hominid Paleobiology |
Kenya (Koobi Fora) Director: David Braun |
Laura Rouse BS Biological Anthropology |
Kenya (Koobi Fora) Director: David Braun |
Tristan Scholl BA Archaeology/International Affairs |
Israel (Megiddo) Director: Eric Cline |
Magdalena Stuehrmann BA Archaeology/English |
Israel (Megiddo) Director: Eric Cline |
Cassandra Turcotte PhD Hominid Paleobiology |
Spain Advisor: Shannon McFarlin |
Renee Underhill BA Middle Eastern Studies |
Jordan (Bir Madkhur) Director: Andrew M. Smith II |
Dominic White PhD Biology |
China Director: James Clark |
Ann Gordon Webster Endowment
This endowment supports the Ann Gordon Webster Award, which was created to assist women who are returning to school to pursue graduate studies in anthropology. Named in honor of Ann Gordon Webster, MA ’79, the endowment was started by Webster’s family in 1996 in honor of her 14-year teaching career with GW.
Grants are awarded annually in the spring on the basis of financial need and potential for making a significant contribution to anthropology. The money is intended to be used for academic books and other school-related costs for graduate students in the Anthropology Department.
Awards are made on the basis of faculty nomination and selection by the department’s directors of graduate studies. Students should contact faculty directly by early February in order to request a nomination.
Ann Webster (1929–94) received a bachelor’s degree in history from Wellesley College in 1950. After marrying Harry Webster, a foreign-service officer, she spent much of the next two decades abroad, raising four children. She first began teaching in the early 1960s in Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), shifting the focus from history and geography of Europe to that of Africa. In 1977, she returned to school at GW, obtaining her MA in Anthropology. She was hired as an adjunct faculty member to teach undergraduate courses, and she enjoyed great success as a teacher. She volunteered her time both within GW and in the larger community, working in an Urban League tutoring program focused on students at H.D. Cook Elementary School in Washington, D.C.
Mitchell Carroll Endowment
This endowment, created in memory of Mitchell Carroll, is intended to promote archaeology at GW. It is used to support lectures by distinguished visiting scholars.
More GW Research Funding
- Office of Graduate Student Assistantships and Fellowships (OGSAF)
- GW Undergraduate Research Award
- Sigelman Undergraduate Research Enhancement (SURE) Award
- Center for Undergraduate Fellowships and Research
External Funding Sources
- The American Anthropological Association has a useful list of funding agencies and is usually the best place to start looking for external support.
- The Archaeological Institute of America offers scholarships, fellowships and grants to AIA members.
- The Society for American Archaeology offers a number of student awards and fellowships.
- The National Geographic Explorer Grants help cover field project costs for hard-working, passionate, creative individuals.
- The Explorers Club has funds for undergraduates, graduate students and postgraduate scholars.
- Sigma Xi's Grants in Aid of Research Program awards grants to undergraduate and graduate students to cover research travel expenses or laboratory equipment.
- The American Schools of Oriental Research provides financial support to its members for excavations and for participation in the organization's annual meeting.
- The Fulbright Program for U.S. Students supports overseas research for graduating seniors, bachelor's degree holders and graduate students.
- The Leakey Foundation offers several research grant opportunities.
- The Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research provides grants for conference travel and research projects to doctoral, postdoctoral and international scholars.